Cats aiming to boost grand final firepower

"I CAN guarantee the next game we play we'll improve on that for sure.

"I CAN guarantee the next game we play we'll improve on that for sure."

Whether he's telling the truth or he's just a hard taskmaster, Wynyard coach Errol Bourn sent a warning to whoever may face his men in the grand final.

Despite the Cats strolling to a 50-point win against a brave Ulverstone outfit on Saturday, the performance didn't quite satisfy Bourn's lofty standards.

The dust had hardly had time to settle and he was inside the changerooms letting his troops know that they must be better in two weeks' time in order to claim the ultimate prize.

The comments are hard to fathom for an outsider looking in considering the healthy margin, but who's going to question a man who has led a club to the biggest day in September undefeated?

The answer is no one.

Bourn was happy to earn a week's break and a place into the decider, but that was one of few things that did please him.

"I thought we played five to seven minutes of good footy and it was at the start of the last quarter when our tackling pressure, run and carry was enormous, and the rest was probably not up to scratch," Bourn said.

"They didn't apply themselves the way they normally do. I don't know if we got overawed by the occasion with it being our first [home] final since 1948, but I suppose you've got to give credit to Ulverstone - they didn't really let us play the footy we wanted to play.

"We made too many silly errors and basic mistakes. Even our kicking to advantage was poor, and I haven't said that much this year.

"But we won't gloss over the cracks and we'll iron out those things, and I can guarantee the next game we play we'll improve on that for sure."

After a tight opening quarter in which only two goals were kicked, the Robins jumped out to a seven-point lead when playing coach Justin Hays snapped truly early in the second term.

But the deficit seemed to sting the Cats into action, and they nailed five of the last six majors of the quarter to hold a handy 17-point advantage at the long break.

That margin had extended to 38 points by three-quarter-time as Wynyard's twin towers in Gregg Sharman and Cameron Betts caught fire.

They combined for five goals in the "premiership quarter" before another two quick ones to Sharman inside the first minute of the last term put the result beyond doubt.

Sharman had his colours lowered by Ulverstone's Ryan Wing until half-time - being held goalless - but he still finished with seven for the afternoon, such was the weight of ball entering the Cats' forward 50 in the last half.

Betts bobbed up with three himself, which could've easily been a bag had he kicked straight, while livewire half-forwards Mikki Linnane (four), Kallum Kubicki (two) and Nick Hall (one) also contributed.

The Cats had winners all over the ground, including veteran Shannon Bakes, who nullified Robins forward Justin Rodman.

Sam Douglas dominated in the ruck, Dane Poke swept well off half-back, Taylor Reeves racked up countless possessions and Bryce Haneveer was the barometer in the centre.

But it was Linnane's best-on-ground effort that drew praise from coach Bourn.

"[I liked] his willingness to run and get to the contest. He didn't shirk any issues - he's as hard and as courageous as anyone now - and his finishing skills were sensational as well."

The mood in Ulverstone's changerooms was surprisingly slightly more upbeat than Wynyard's. However, coach Hays was still left disappointed by his team's poor showing in the second half.

"I think we just got too unaccountable and blokes weren't willing to do the job that they were instructed to do," he said.

The Robins can earn a second shot at Wynyard if they can beat Latrobe in Saturday's preliminary final at Girdlestone Park.